Defining Our Thing
by NavyStrong42099
Summary: Previously Our Thing is a Love Story: Kensi and Deeks must work through some remaining issues they have in order to continue their..."thing". What they haven't admitted out loud is that their thing is a love story, and it's about time they started calling it that.


**Author's Note:**

**Hi all! So, this was originally titled Our Thing is a Love Story. And trust me when I say that nothing was changed to what you see below. The original story was taken down after I tried to post an author's note as a second chapter (like that hasn't been done before) thanking all of you for the wonderful reviews. And to clear up any confusion, yes, this is purely a one-shot, and yes it was by accident that I left the button checked for the 'in progress". Anyways, enjoy if you haven't read this and thank you if you have!**

**-C**

"Some case, huh?" Sam marveled as he packed up his bag for the evening. It was late into the night, the day's case finally wrapped up and put behind them on the shelf. He and Callen were successfully rescued after using the latest sonar technology to detect the submarine. However, it was a whole other matter to get them safely off the vessel and into the welcoming arms of their comrades.

"Not the worse jam we've ever been in," Callen argued. The team leader dumped the dregs from their coffee mugs into the sink. It was a subtle celebration in the boatshed after the day they had.

"You were trapped in the torpedo compartment of a submarine packed with explosives," DEA Agent Talia De Campo reiterated. She drummed the fingers on the table, stealing a glance at Kensi, who was sitting as far away from her as possible.

Callen paused for a moment. "So it's high up on the list, but I'm just saying-"

"We take down terrorists every other week. Of course we've been in worse situations before," Kensi cut him off, glaring at Talia.

Deeks had no effort to conceal the groan he emitted. The air wreaked of the tension between the two brunette agents, and their pissing match had been carrying on for the better part of the past twenty four hours.

"And I'm sure those are stories for another night," Talia flashed her a plastic smile. It was more fake than the Barbie doll she had mistaken Kensi for.

"Definitely," Kensi growled, mismatched orbs flashing.

Sam's eyes flicked between the two of them and seemed desperate to get out of the situation. "Well, Michelle's gonna want me home, so I'm heading out. Night guys, and good work today."

"I'm right behind you," Callen immediately jumped in.

"Night," Deeks called after them, desperate to make an escape from the situation at hand. He was envious of the older agents' ability to run.

"So…" Talia's gaze drifted back over to the partners who were sitting awfully close together. It was more of Kensi's doing, but Deeks wasn't complaining- at least not about that.

"It was nice to work with you again, Talia, but I think I'm calling it a night, too," Deeks announced. He rose from his chair in sync with Kensi.

"You too," she replied. "Let's not wait for another case to hook up again, alright partner?"

Deeks could practically see the steam fuming from Kensi's ears, so he stuck out his hand for a firm handshake. With a perplexed look on her face, Talia tightly grasped it. She then turned to Kensi. The blond was just thankful that she was mature enough to return it.

They didn't say a word as Talia left the boatshed. The only sound was the lapping of water against the wood and Kensi's not-so-obvious sigh.

"Quite the woman," she muttered.

"I didn't think so," Deeks objected, turning to face Kensi straight on. "You alright?"

Kensi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I'm fine, Deeks. I'm just glad the guys are home safe."

"I'm not talking about that."

"Yeah, I know," she admitted, falling against the table. "Talia irritated me."

"Irritated you?"

"Yes, irritated me!" Kensi exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. "I mean, who does she think she is?"

"No, no, no, no, no," Deeks corrected her quickly. "The judges on _America's Next Top Model_ irritate you. My driving irritates you. You had the claws out on this one."

"And?"

"Oh come on, Kens. You two were at each other's throats. I think the little beauty contest going on might have been a little bit of an overreaction."

"Overreaction?" Kensi repeated in disbelief. "She comes waltzing up to you talking about how you two hooked up, and you think _I_ overreated?"

"Yes," Deeks repeated with a serious expression. "Because you should know that there's never a competition."

Kensi opened her mouth, a tart retort on the tip of her tongue when she snapped her jaw shut to keep it from flying out. Several responses flew threw her head before she settled on the hardest one- the honest one.

She massaged her temples with slender fingers and exhaled deeply. "If we can agree on something, then let's agree that we need to figure this out."

"We do. And the first step might just be defining _this_," Deeks flicked his hand between their bodies. "Our thing."

"Right. Our thing," she gulped. "I thought you said you didn't know what to do about that."

"I don't. But I believe that _we_ will," he took one step closer to her. "And part of that is you knowing that there is not another woman in the world who can hold a light next to you. You are beautiful, Kensi Marie Blye, inside and out." He could see Kensi struggling with what to say next, so he spoke for her. "No more metaphors, no more double meanings. Working with you has taught me a lot of things but it's taught me what it's like to live with no regrets, and I don't want that to be there the next time we have to work a dangerous op."

She nodded. "One year later and I guess our communication still sucks. Okay. Um…" Kensi trailed off, trying to find the words. Suddenly, she had this gleam in her eye. "So let's start from the beginning." This time, she was the one to take the step, and Deeks's heart nearly stopped. "In Afghanistan, thinking about you was the only thing that got me through. Old pictures, texting…it made me feel like I had a home waiting for me. And in the cave, your smile, your laugh, and even your terrible driving made all the pain go away."

"I meant it when I said that I'd hoped you never had to go through that," Deeks echoed sadly. "And I want you to know that you weren't just my safe haven after the Sidorov case, Kens. Even in the midst of switching up partners while you were away, I felt that you were still protecting me."

"The knife," Kensi guessed.

"The knife."

"The one that you gave back to me," she repeated.

"Sometimes a knife is just a knife."

"And sometimes it isn't."

"It was your dad's. I haven't earned the right to carry it," Deeks shrugged.

She scoffed. "You flew halfway across the world to rescue me from Afghanistan. Not to mention saved my life countless other times. I'm sure my dad would disagree with your statement."

"He hasn't seen my third heart," he argued.

"But I have," Kensi said barely above a whisper. "And it's that of a man who is the most important person in the world to me. At least you've had the courage to shown it. Mine's packed away somewhere, and even I haven't seen it in some time."

"No it's not. I could see it in your eyes that night we stayed up talking before you were reassigned. It might live part-time in a certain box, however."

Kensi managed to laugh, although her eyes were stinging with tears. "I told you it was what you wanted most in the world."

"No it's not. Because that's standing right in front of me, Kens."

"Deeks-"

He cut her off with a tender kiss on her lips. After a moment of brief surprise, she began to respond.

When they broke apart, Deeks cupped her cheeks with his strong, calloused hands. "So, our thing?"

Kensi exhaled, a breath she had been holding for months. For once in their lives, metaphors were tossed out the window and there was resemblance of actual communication. She had talked about going back to the beginning, but this was it.

"It's a love story."


End file.
